Cevennes National Park, French

                     

 Peaks to Plains In Cevennes National Park low mountains flow smoothly onto the plains of Languedoc, creating a patchwork of rocky heights, grasslands, forests, and farms. This is not a pure wilderness park but a classic landscape of traditional French life.

 Many Villages Cevennes is the only national park in France that has human settlements at its core—there are some 250 villages within its borders.

 Prehistoric Inhabitation People have lived here since at least 400,000 B.C. By about 2,500 B.C. they were erecting standing stones, called megaliths, which can still be seen today. Later, the Romans left their mark with enduring buildings, burial sites, and roads. Many churches from the Middle Ages also still stand, although most of that era’s castles are in ruins.

•Agricultural Woes Agricultural crises plagued the area around the park beginning in the second half of the 19th century. Diseases devastated silkworms, which were then key to a local industry, and sweet chestnut trees, which had been introduced by the Romans. These and other economic problems led to an exodus and a significant population decline, which was exacerbated by the staggering death tolls of World War I.